


[Fandom stats] How slashy are Sherlock AO3 fanworks?

by toastystats (destinationtoast)



Series: Fandom Stats [9]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Fanwork Research & Reference Guides, Meta, Nonfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-15
Updated: 2013-06-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 21:19:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17009412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destinationtoast/pseuds/toastystats
Summary: Relationship category breakdowns on AO3, as of June 2013.





	[Fandom stats] How slashy are Sherlock AO3 fanworks?

**Author's Note:**

> Originally [posted on Tumblr](http://destinationtoast.tumblr.com/post/53085607366/this-one-goes-out-to-the-makers-and-listeners-of).

[](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNfIAP2nBhjNxva3s1oYWyv_nDghuCmNa8INN4wE96IKzjWYKtksd627_5d-6cisA/photo/AF1QipNztjWVZ1TqE0rtIMFMT_0nGJkXorlq-sPmP4kj?key=UzBPVlZCQ3p1S1VnWHVkM2tDR3lQNGs2VmRBM3BR)

[](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNfIAP2nBhjNxva3s1oYWyv_nDghuCmNa8INN4wE96IKzjWYKtksd627_5d-6cisA/photo/AF1QipMBibHkiMmopxrZAgCdMpNm2q-uJkNxoGC4lHM3?key=UzBPVlZCQ3p1S1VnWHVkM2tDR3lQNGs2VmRBM3BR)

[](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNfIAP2nBhjNxva3s1oYWyv_nDghuCmNa8INN4wE96IKzjWYKtksd627_5d-6cisA/photo/AF1QipODWLmwT0_JEA4pvyo5xFgKB9LxQ84vhwyA20dZ?key=UzBPVlZCQ3p1S1VnWHVkM2tDR3lQNGs2VmRBM3BR)

This one goes out to the makers and listeners of [Three-Patch Podcast](http://threepatchpodcast.tumblr.com/post/53023672324/starting-now-dont-be-surprised-if-you-see-a-mini).

[](http://threepatchpodcast.tumblr.com/post/53023672324/starting-now-dont-be-surprised-if-you-see-a-mini)

In the latest episode, there was a continuation of a roundtable discussion about queerness and _Sherlock_.  There was a discussion at one point about how much slash there is in the  _Sherlock_  fandom.  That's exactly the type of question I like to answer (though I can only easily answer as it pertains to fanfic on AO3, which is by no means all of fandom -- **Edit:** see [follow-up post addressing FFNet and Tumblr](http://destinationtoast.tumblr.com/post/53420355869/how-does-the-sherlock-fandom-vary-across)).

I had already examined the [most common relationship categories employed on AO3](http://destinationtoast.tumblr.com/post/52261319793/next-up-in-my-ongoing-series-on-ao3-stats-a) in general (Fig 2), so I repeated the analysis for just the _Sherlock (TV)_ fics.  Indeed -- unsurprisingly, given that most of the characters are male -- **there is more slash in the _Sherlock_ fandom than on average.  The other main difference between  _Sherlock_ and other fandoms is the relative lack of F/M fics.**  Compared to the overall AO3 average, about 10% more fics in  _Sherlock_ are M/M slash, and about 10% fewer are F/M.  Several of the other categories also differ by as much as a few percentage points, but those are the biggest differences.

I also analyzed the frequency of the most popular relationships (which was also discussed on the podcast).  I didn't do an exclusive analysis for this, so there's overlap between the different relationships (e.g., a story that has both Johnlock and Mystrade will be counted toward both).  But it's clear from this analysis that **Sherlock/John outstrips all other relationships by an order of magnitude, occurring in over half of the _Sherlock_ fics on AO3.**  Even platonically, Sherlock & John is far more prevalent than any other character interaction.  Because, yeah, that interaction is pretty much the show.  :)

 **Update:** see my other [Sherlockian analyses](http://destinationtoast.tumblr.com/stats#sherlockian), which cover the fandom's relationships and relationship categories in more detail -- and also check out the cross-platform comparisons for more info about FFNet, deviantART, Wattpad, Tumblr, and more.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments welcome, but I’m in the middle of a massive fandom stats backup due to Tumblr purge, so I may be slow to respond.


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